Japanese Smartphone usage in stores.

When out for a shop, do you use your smartphone to search for products and services whilst in store?

According to a study carried out by Hakuhodo DY Holdings, 67.1% of Smartphone users in Japan utilise their Smartphone to enhance their shopping experiences. 15.4% said that they use it often and 51.7% answered that they use it sometimes.

In a set of yes or no answers. 38% of users say this happens at Electronic stores. Supermarkets are the second most popular at 25%, followed by Convenience stores also at 25%. The top 4 are Department stores (23.2%) followed by Discount stores (21.5%) and Computer shops (20.4%). Electronic stores selling relatively expensive products came first, but Car dealers weren’t as popular (7.2%).

So what do shoppers actually look at on their smartphones when in store?

56.6% of them view ‘word of mouth’ based reviews on Social Media. 49.7% view user reviews outside of Social Media and, of course, 44.0% are checking the lowest price followed by 39.3% searching for vouchers and 37.6% studying the detailed information on company sites.

The study was carried out online targeting 1,000 Smartphone users between age of 16 — 69, in August this year.